title: Carotid and femoral atherosclerotic plaques show different morphology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Results of endovascular repair vary according to the arterial bed. We hypothesized that these differences may be related to the plaque features. To explore this hypothesis, we designed a prospective study that compared carotid and femoral atheroma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients that underwent femoral or carotid endarterectomy were included in our study. Demographic data and blood sampling were obtained prior to surgery. Plaques were evaluated for AHA grading, calcification and lipid content. Eighty-eight plaques were harvested during this study (45 carotid specimens and 43 femoral specimens). No differences were noted between carotid and femoral groups regarding demographic and biological data. Histological data more frequently showed fibrous cap atheroma in carotid arteries (75%) and fibrocalcific plaques in femoral arteries (93%), p<0.001. Morphological analyses showed a high prevalence of osteoid metaplasia in femoral arteries (63%) compared to carotid arteries (20%, p<0.001). Biochemical analyses were consistent with histological data, showing higher calcium and lesser cholesterol concentrations in femoral than in carotid plaques (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Femoral and carotid plaques showed different morphology in comparable groups of patients.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U957, Nantes F-44000, France.
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Herisson
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Heymann
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chétiveaux
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charrier
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pilet
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rouillon
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krempf
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lemarchand
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heymann
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gouëffic
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004691:Endarterectomy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008679:Metaplasia / Q000473:pathology; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D002784:Cholesterol; D002118:Calcium